Builder-friendly ordinance extended

The Chico City Council extended a temporary ordinance on Tuesday (Nov. 18) that defers payment of fees imposed on developers until residences are occupied.

Prior to 2008, the city expected payment of development impact fees upon acquisition of a building permit, according to a city staff report. In August of that year, at the height of the recession, developers requested the city defer those fees until issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Seeking to encourage economic development through construction, the council obliged, originally approving the ordinance for a two-year period, then voting for extensions in 2010 and 2012. Currently, the city has a running balance of about $1.2 million in deferred development impact fees.

The council voted unanimously to approve another extension, this time for one year. “Staff believes a one-year extension would serve to bolster the recovery and advance the city’s economic development goals,” the report reads.